Layers of Laughter: Leonard Madrid Talks Cebollas

Family, tension, joy and laughter are all present in Leonard Madrid’s new play Cebollas.

Recently premiering at the Denver Center of Performing Arts, Cebollas is about three sisters and a dead body, taking a road trip from Albuquerque or “Burque” as they call it in the play, all the way to Denver.

Madrid incorporated Denver because he “always thought this was going to be a route 66 play,” he said but after living in Denver and driving this route what may be 30+ times, “I realized this is the trip I know best.” For local Coloradans, you’ll have a blast hearing different cities mentioned including Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Castle Rock, truly making you feel like you are on this trip with the characters.

Born and raised in New Mexico, Madrid entered the world of theater all thanks to his father. In the 70s, Luis Valdez founding artistic director & playwright of El Teatro Campesino, is considered the founder of Chicano theater, visited university campuses around the United States offering workshops. Madrid’s father took an afternoon class and years later, when Madrid was in college looking for electives to take, his mother encouraged him to enroll in theater, and the rest is history.

Getting this story to the stage has been no easy feat. Madrid first presented the script two years ago at the New Play Summit, and “the process was freaking amazing” he said. Often, playwrights see things one way, he explained. However, once actors are reading the scripts during a cold read, a reading conducted around a table or during blocking scenes on stage to determine movement, the script begins to change as new parts of the characters unveil themselves. 

Madrid said that the characters are as much of a mystery to him as they are to the viewers. Even as the process ends with what Madrid called his audience “the final collaborator,” the layers continue to unveil themselves, making it a never-ending process. Madrid revises scenes as he sees how an audience responds to them.

Much of Madrid’s work is Magical Realism, a genre where brujeria exists, the dead come back to life and the monsters under your bed aren’t just in your imagination. This magic isn’t seen in the circular world, and it is often the first thing to go, Madrid tells us. But his works keep the magic alive, as many of these stories are from New Mexican folklore and both Albuquerque and New Mexico are a consistent background in his plays.

Madrid’s upcoming work, Prima’s Guide to Funerals, is a comedy with a tinge of drama. Strong women are constantly in his plays, inspired by his own Primas and Tias. It is important to Madrid to continue writing characters that are older, complex, and pass the Bechtel test. A test created to see if two or more women on stage or film have a conversation about something other than men.

Cebollas is also a comedy, but as Madrid said, “it is a comedic take on something absurd.” It is something lighthearted, a unique feeling in this space because so much of Latinx portrayal is based on pain, struggle and trauma, while Cebollas is about sharing the joy and color of the culture.

In Cebollas, the audience experiences the culture of Albuquerque through thoughtful stage design. There is a car on stage painted in a way, Madrid shared, that makes it look sun damaged as all the cars in Albuquerque are. The license plate also reads “AbQ 4lyf,” which is a heartwarming touch. The interior of the home in Albuquerque is also very vibrant, scattered with family photos, random books, quinceañera memories and saint candles which perfectly juxtaposes the minimalistic house seen later on stage.

For many first generation Latinx and Chicane viewers, this play is a warm hug. The Spanish sprinkled throughout the play is very natural and feels like listening to family. The dynamic between the sisters Teresa, Celia and Yolanda played by actresses Zuleyma Guevara, Xochitl Romero and Jamie Ann Romero, feels so natural, one would think they’re sisters in real life with their constant bickering. Madrid said that the production was very much like a family coming together, giving credit to the director Jerry Ruiz for creating a welcoming environment.

There are big secrets revealed during the road trip that ultimately bring the sisters closer than ever before. While no family dynamic is perfect, as an audience member you feel the burden being lifted from all of the characters.

Madrid, along with the cast and crew, successfully makes the audience laugh, cry and hold family a little bit closer, proving Cebollas is a must-see show. 

Cebollas will be performed at the Singleton Theatre until March 17th, offering audiences an opportunity to experience their captivating show. For those interested in attending, tickets can be purchased through Denvercenter.org.

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